ficus elastica... it's 1st overdue haircut. long with pictures.

15 years ago

(again, im asking y'all to go easy on me if this is not the best spot)

about 14 or 15 years ago my step dad clipped his rubber tree plant and stuck the clipping in a mayonaise jar on our kitchen window sill. it was cool. then one day i had a plant in my room.

alright. well, that was when i was in 6th or 7th grade. im amazed it lived through some of the crap i put it through. especially in college. HA!!

anyways, it's NEVER been trimmed or clipped. i always wanted my step dad to do it for me, or at least with me, and i moved out and they seperated and now its too big to move and he's too far to come over.

i know that you can take the tops off and it will help thicken up some of the spindley type bottoms, but i also know that sometimes those spindley bottom branches turn into roots! my plant is about 5 feet tall.

so i need advice on where to clip it, when to clip it (does timing matter on clipping? or just repotting?) and any other little tidbits of advice you might have.

i've never used fertilizer. im sure the first time my stepdad potted it it was with fertilized soil, the i repotted it, im assuming with the same soil (i was in highschool, give me a break) it's only been potted one other time, landing it in the pot its in now...and it's surrounded by organic potting soil this time, and a handful or two of cow poo, i think.

{{gwi:85792}}
i dont really think this picture does it too much justice, but you do get a nice feeling for the Y shape it's had since birth. but the Y arm to the left goes back quite aways and has many offshoots growing, which really thicken it up.

and actually, if you look closely, right to the left, above the washcloth scrap at the bottom, is a new leaf, coming right out into the front.
{{gwi:85794}}

another view of the whole thing
{{gwi:85795}}
again, not a dusty plant, it just got spritzed.

i can't rotate the plant too much where it is, there isn't too much opportunity in my room. but as you can see from all three pictures, it's growing!! it's growing like whoa.

im really proud of myself for somehow managing to keep that plant alive this whole time, given how young i was when i got it, and given how stupid and passed out i was in college.

i love that plant, and honestly, i'd like to take a clipping and give it to my step dad, because i found out that the parent plant didnt' survive the last move. but he had that plant for 20-25 years if i remember right.

so...there ya go! there's my story! any tips you might have on the matter would be oh so helpful, and let me know if you need/want any other angles on the plant. i like taking pictures of my plants.

amber

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
How brave are you?

Al
sessomatto
Original Author
15 years ago
not very, i bet.
i dont want to hack it down to ankle height if that's what you're thinking or planning.

but i KNOW i need to do something. plus i really do want to give a clipping to my step dad.

im scared, and i dont' use chemicals...so let me know if that changes anything.

hows about YOU let me know what you think should happen, and I"LL let you know if im brave enough!

:)
eagerly awaiting your plan.
Related Discussions
Encourage branching by cuttling a leaf in half?
Q
Comments (10)
I guess it DOES look like a cheerleader. I never would have made the connection, but you're right. ;-) By "hardly anyone" I meant people like authors or others in a position to teach or in some way help growers to learn more and better practices they might use in keeping plants healthy and attractive. I try to share anything I've learned or discovered in my search for ever increasing proficiency at bonsai if I think others can use it to get more from the growing experience. Almost all of what I've learned about plants is an outgrowth of my efforts to add to my skills as they relate to bonsai, and a high % of what I do as a bonsai practitioner can be adopted as part of the houseplant growers bag of tricks. It's not so much that the things a bonsai practitioner are different than what a houseplant grower might do or have to deal with; rather, a seasoned bonsai practitioner already understands those things required of houseplant growers if they want to keep their plants healthy in pots. The things I've learned in my bonsai pursuits, both the artistic side and horticultural aspects, about keeping plants healthy in pots pretty much universally applies to all plants grown in containers. The only thing that stops a houseplant grower from utilizing the same techniques I've acquired is the fact they might not yet have been exposed to all these little tricks. So many of the things and practices we take for granted today were born of science to fill a specific need for a very specific application, only to find that someone later discovered the invention of the thing or methodology had significant potential for applications in areas that might seem totally isolated from the original application. Examples are Super Glue, WD-40, nano technology, laser technology, ..... the list of examples is as endless as the list of applications beyond the original intent. Plus, anything you learn about plants is almost always going to prove valuable over and over again. That's why I push a greater understanding of how water behaves in soils as the major pivoting point in any container grower's search for proficiency. It's knowledge you'll never stop using until you stop gardening. Al
...See More
Avocado converted to Houseplant (pics)
Q
Comments (149)
Well... it's 2 yrs old, started in the compost pile & spent the first summer outside in the veg garden. I dug it up in the fall, since it had grown rather tall & looked happy. I was too tender-hearted to condemn it to death by frost. Currently 2' tall (+ that 2" new growth I mentioned) & living in a 1 gallon plastic pot of garden soil/compost. It has a little over an inch of thin bark coming on at the base of the trunk. I've been using 1/8 strength 3:1:2 fertilizer for about a month, usually about every week or 10 days. None of the new leaves since fertilizer have had crispy tips - I think they're from last summer when I let it get a little too dry - it really hasn't been a leaf-dropper at all. At the equinox, I'm going up everybody's doses to 1/4 strength for a while. Everyone just got a pot flush yesterday (no food) since the weather was so nice - my S-facing glass-roof deck was out of the N wind & "warm" w/ the glass magnifying the sun. All the plants are getting southern exposure at this point & the 'Cado is right by the window. Anyhoo - it will get a root prune & repot into fast mix in June. Maybe a move to a 2 gal pot; we'll see what those roots are doing... then it can eat as much as it wants. I may very well defoliate the trunk at that point. I think it will enjoy spending the summer outdoors. I'm after a taller plant, so when I lop, it's just a few cm off the top. The last cut (only the 2nd lopping) brought 2 buds: the slacker & the over-achiever. If the slacker gets it's @ss in gear, that'll be enough balance for now & I'll let those shoots grow the better part of a foot or so before I chop them. If not, I'll take another few cm off the top & hope for more balanced budding. Thanks Josh for sharing your experience on this thread - I think Avocado is something most people try, simply because it's around. You're proving that it can actually be a viable & attractive houseplant, given one is willing to put in some initial work. GB
...See More
Ponytail Palm - Extra Long Leaves, Normal?
Q
Comments (60)
Fabulous now that we can see Cher in all her glory! Oh my, Maria, you took the leaf of faith, Cher looks great! I bet with the trim and repot, her elegant ballerina like figure (caudex ) will plump up a bit. She looks very elegant with her long slender look! I love that we can now see her in full :) You must be so happy to have accomplished this! I found the same with Harry when I repotted him, most roots where on the outside. Having only chopped Harry's heads off once... Here was my thinking: Cut them off in fall, allow him to sit in a low light area and water once a month at most. Let him gather strength for spring. Come March he had new sprouts starting. At first they were little bumps, then fully fledged sprouts and then by summer, he was on his way to his new stout look. I think late fall may be best as you will want to stop watering her due to her having no leaves, plus this will give her time to re-establish her roots between now and then. Harry did fine with watering him once a month in winter. I only started watering him once a few of his sprouts were about an inch long and green. If you look at the photo above of him with his heads cut off and the one before it, you will notice that his caudex is plump in the one with his heads and then it is more wrinkly in the one with the new sprouts. We do this same routine each winter. He looks dehydrated early spring from the lack of water in the winter but by spring he's re-hydrated and plumped up. Have you thought about how much you want to cut off? I look forward to the next update on Cher!
...See More
Fiddle Leaf Fig Drooping After Repot/Root Pruning- Help!
Q
Comments (64)
Hey guys, first of all, thanks to everyone that's helping. I've learned so much in the past two days. Specially Dave and Al...thank you teachers! :) So sorry about in the instrusion, I'm another one with fiddle leaf problems. I think I was sold a sick FLF...the guys just told me that it was in direct light all day long, so I thought the brown spots were justified. Until I got home and realized the soil was really compact...really....compact and soggy...and loads of rocks on top, which probably wouldn't help. So what I've did pretty fast, I went into despair...I've tried to repot it...and..of course I the roots just broke in half, and they were almost black and quite smelly... I didn't have anything around other than regular soil with perlite, so I just moved the lyrata and the now shorter roots too a new dry vase with some brick pieces at the bottom and that soil...the soil it's very loose and didn't compressed whatsoever. Didn't watered since, two days now. So after reading all of your kind info, Tomorrow I'm going too: 1. Clean the remaining roots as well as I can without damaging it more.. 2 .Repot, with 5:1:1 mix...Pine bark, Turf (should I?), Perlite; and some brick pieces in the bottom. 3. Water the lyrata once like flushing, right? And then again.. 4. The bottom leaves are very very rigid almost like they are about to break, I've read one Al's comment about "the end of life" process of these leaves...Should I cut the last leave and put the trunk deeper so it forms new healthy roots? (if this makes any sense at all) 5. Pruning, I was thinking about cutting the top (last picture), but as the bottom leaves are so stiff, maybe they aren't able to produce that much "food" and I should keep the top one for now? (I'm I thinking stupid??) 6. The only I had to cover the pot was sawdust, with which I have been lucky in protecting my plants from pests and mould. Again...in a despair act..should I maintain this? Can you help me please?? I'm based in Sintra,Portugal; very warm and humid location, actually humidity is a problem around here. Any advice is most welcome! thanks!
...See More
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
How about this. Cut each branch/trunk back to 4 leaves & take another picture. It's really difficult to see exactly what you have in the photos posted.

You can check out the hard reduction of the Radermachera in the link below if you need fortification. If you want, I'll take another pic of the plant as it is now, only a few weeks later. It's already budded back strongly & I've rubbed off all but the shoot I'll be using as the new leader.

If you decide to go ahead, we can look at the new pics & figure out how to get the tree's shape back in balance - easy to decide how to proceed if I was there, but not so easy from those pics.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Reduction
User
15 years ago
Dear Amber,

Just to reassure you, as Al (Tapla) is too modest a fellow to toot his own horn; but his recommendations have been a great help to LOTS of us here.

While his recommendation may sound dramatic, you are in the best possible hands when it comes to Ficus care in particular.

Al is a kindly, very knowledgeable fellow who shares his knowledge generously w/ any who cares to read & learn.

Over the years I've benefitted greatly from reading his posts. He is variously known here for posts on Ficus Care, Soil Mixes (a VERY popular discussion of his which has helped LOTS more people) & the Perched Water Table (my personal favorite) which has been especially helpful to me & my Hoyas.

I found it exciting to see the plants behaving exactly as he predicted. I expect you'll have a good experience w/ whichever of his good counsel you choose to follow.

Hi Al, Sorry I haven't gotten back to you of late, but as usual, I'm appreciating you & your fine efforts from afar.

(PG) Karen
sessomatto
Original Author
15 years ago
oooh hooo, i KNOW about al.

well, i mean, i know his word is gospel and i should listen to it...
esPECially about them pesky ficusuzes...or whatever the plural would be.

i know i know i know....but cutting your fifteen year old friend down to nothing is the most gut wrenching thing i've ever heard of...i fully intend on moving my dumb-canes and pulling out the rubber tree and taking some more pictures....how about....

*right NOW*
as i've got some beer energy and the sun is making all my greens look even more beautiful than they really are.

to be continued...
sessomatto
Original Author
15 years ago
well im in thick tears because i lost the pictures i took...
my camera...or the program...or i dont know exactly...but between my camera $hitting out and my little brothers acting like dicks im lost and done...

and i'll take new pictures tomorrow and sorry...
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
Save the tears - we're on tree time now (like measuring dog years - only in reverse). It didn't have anything to do with that barley pop you were into, did it? Lol

Thanks, Karen. I literally blushed when I read what you wrote. ;o) That was really kind.

Al

ficus elastica... it's 1st overdue haircut. long with pictures.

Comments (7)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

sessomatto
Original Author

Related Discussions

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

User

sessomatto
Original Author

sessomatto
Original Author

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ficus elastica... it's 1st overdue haircut. long with pictures.

Comments (7)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

sessomattoOriginal Author

Related Discussions

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

User

sessomattoOriginal Author

sessomattoOriginal Author

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

sessomatto
Original Author

sessomatto
Original Author

sessomatto
Original Author